Core Values

I've recently been thinking a lot about my core values and what they are. I believe that everyone has a set of core values that informs everything they do and every decision they make. As a leader I know that I need to be aware of what my core values are and that they people I am leading need to know what those core values are, in practice if not in word. So I'm going to write down here what I know my core values to be here today. This is the beginning of my list and may get added to or edited later but for now here it goes:

1) The local church is the hope of the world - By the power of the Holy Spirit and through Jesus Christ, the local Christian church is the medium through which God has chosen to change hearts, lives and destinys. As such, the work of the local church is the most important work done on earth and so the work of the church should be that work which is done with the most care because the stakes are so high.

2) Everything thing the church does should be done with as much Excellence as it can muster - if the local church is the hope of the world and the work we do is of such high stakes then I believe it should be done with more excellence than any other agency on the planet. Excellence, in my opinion, is doing the best you can with what you have. So our goal should always be to spur one another on to give our absolute best, even when it's tough or stretching.

3) The ARTS have a unique and vital role in the church - The arts can convey stories, stir emotions and engage the mind in ways that preaching simply can't. These days, the arts need to be playing a hugely significant role in the telling of the story of God and artists need to take risks in order to reach and increasingly distant culture.

4) People matter to God - There is a fine balance between pushing and loving but we need to walk it. We shouldn't be so focused on getting better that we are unduly hurting each other on the way. We also shouldn't be so fragile that we get hurt WAY to easily and thus never get better because we can't take criticism. As I said, it's a fine line.

5) Lost people matter to God - way too many churches ignore the lost and become insular. God started the church by saying "Go...make disciples". We can't be happy with who is in the fold...we must leave, find the lost, and bring them back with us.

6) The church needs to be culturally relevant - This might get me into trouble but the church must communicate on a level that the common man can understand. Just as the apostle Paul used teachings from Greek culture so must we use examples from everyday life to bring the never changing truth of God into the 21st Century. (See core value 3 for more)

Like I said, there's more but this is a good start. If you want to know what gets me fired up, here it is. I'd invite people to dialogue with me regarding these things so I can refine them and help others to understand them and to learn from them about their core values.

Cirque du Soleil - a night to inspire

So for our 5th anniversary Melissa and I went to Cirque du Soleil's Kooza in Toronto. I highly reccomend to anyone that hasn't been to a Cirque show to go! They are amazing. It seems like a lot of people have a particular image of what it will be...like my mom. She asked me "Is there any hay in the tent". I somwhat impatiently told her that no, there was not any hay in the tent. There are no smelly mistreated elephants either. The whole show is kind of like a fusion between theatre and acrobatics.
Kooza tells the story of a boy who seems to have no joy in life. All of that changes however when he recieves a large jack-in-the-box who's "Jack" has extraordinary powers and brings all kinds of fun and entertainment into the boy's life.
I left the show totally inspired and ready to take my art and that of my friends to a whole other level. I pray that God would empower us with passion and dedication and His Spirit so that the art we portray is far more impacting that that of a circus.

Upwards, Inwards and Outwards

I'm working my way through a study on worship. I found it mentioned on www.worship.com and so ordered it and have been pleased with it so far. It's a 9 week study which gives thoughts for 5 of the 7 days of the week. On day 3 the author suggest we praise in all directions: Upwards, Inwards and Outwards. I thought this was just a great way to articulate the totality of the worship God is looking for. In case it's not already apparent what he meant let me give you a paraphrased version of the study:

Upwards: This is the traditional definition of worship - like Sunday corporate worship where we lift up the name of God in song or speech.

Inwards: to work on the state of our hearts and souls is an act of worship.

Outwards: Loving our fellow man as Christ has commanded is also worship.

I'm all over this kind of stuff. Worship is more than music...I'll say that until it becomes the standard definition that the majority of Christians embrace...and live!